Finance and Planning Minister, Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips, said the Government is seeking to complete salary negotiations with the remaining unions representing civil servants during the October to December quarter. He noted that settlements have been reached with more than 80 per cent of the bargaining units. The Minister, who was speaking in the House of Representatives on September 29,...

Finance and Planning Minister, Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips, says the fiscal operations under the Economic Reform Programme (ERP) are on track to meet the established targets for September. This, he noted, is as a result of “better than budgeted” performances for both the central government primary surplus and fiscal deficit at the end of August. The Minister was speaking in...

Mr. Denford Edwards, Senior Tax Collector, Tax Administration Jamaica, who was arrested and charged by the Revenue Protection Division (RPD),  was sentenced to nine (9) months imprisonment, having been found guilty of Obtaining Money by Means of False Pretences in the Halfway Tree Resident Magistrate’s Court, Criminal Division earlier this week. Mr. Edwards collected a sum of money from a...

The Jamaica Customs Agency will be implementing a number of measures at the various ports of entry, in anticipation of the increase in activities during the upcoming Yuletide season. Commissioner of Customs, Major Richard Reese, said among the measures will be the deployment of additional personnel to the air and seaports. He also mentioned that the pool of customer service/information...

A total of $4.6 billion is expected to be raised from the increase in Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on petroleum products, to fund the oil hedge programme this fiscal year. It is intended that $5 out of every litre of oil will go towards funding the programme, which seeks to reduce the country’s exposure to the changes in crude oil...

Co-Chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Richard Byles, says the revenue intake for the first four months of the 2015/16 fiscal year, ending July 31, totalled $127.2 billion, some $2.9 billion more than the initial projection. He added that this is also $16.5 billion higher than the intake for the corresponding period last year. Mr. Byles was speaking...

Minister without Portfolio in the Finance and Planning Ministry, Hon. Horace Dalley, says the Government is firmly committed to growing the economy by improving trade facilitation. “We intend to take all measures, we intend to review all processes, and we intend to look at the operations of every single agency that is involved in the facilitation of trade. Whatever we...